diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index daaabb75..d143b428 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -46,3 +46,5 @@ docs/_build
 
 # virtualenv
 .venv
+
+/rpc-tests
diff --git a/pyethapp/jsonrpc.py b/pyethapp/jsonrpc.py
index 652e416b..1706b808 100644
--- a/pyethapp/jsonrpc.py
+++ b/pyethapp/jsonrpc.py
@@ -345,8 +345,6 @@ def quantity_decoder(data):
         success = False
     elif not data.startswith('0x'):
         success = False  # must start with 0x prefix
-    elif len(data) > 3 and data[2] == '0':
-        success = False  # must not have leading zeros (except `0x0`)
     else:
         data = data[2:]
         # ensure even length